A healthy obsession?...Dad's not gonna like this.

It is far more seemly to have a Studie full of Books, than they Purse full of money. - John Lyly

People say that life is the thing, but I prefer reading. - Logan Pearsall Smith

Today I decided I needed a break from all the stress (and right now there's a lot of stress), so I decided to travel into Taipei to my favorite place: the Eslite Mall. Sounds like a normal girls shopping spree right? I walk in, past the boutiques of bags and shoes, dresses and jackets, straight to the escalator taking me to the 2nd floor - the beginning floor with 4 more above it, all filled with books. I don't spend much time on the 2nd floor, it's mainly magazines and electronics. Most of my time is spent on the 3rd floor - general literature and the 5th floor - music/movies and stationary stuff. Just walking through rows of books, Chinese and English, makes me happy. The fact that I literally get lost in this place puts a smile on my face. And although I spent too much money there (oops) it's fun to just go and see the books and watch the people. People are sitting on benches and chairs reading, or they just find a random corner to occupy. It's quite like a library, yet not so restricted.

There are a lot of people like me, people who need books the way they need air. - Richard Marek

I only bought 3 books, some little gifts and 2 notebooks, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. One of the notebooks is a reader's journal, I figured it would be good because when I read a great book I want to talk about it a lot, this way I can write about it instead and not completely annoy/confuse Mom. The notebook it had a lot of quotes, which is another thing I love. And there's one that really seemed to fit well with me: "The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page." St. Augustine.

I enjoy reading, it takes me away from what's going on in reality for awhile and into whatever world I'm reading about, a mini-escape. And I enjoy writing, journals/blogs, stories, poems, a release of things inside that sometimes make more sense on paper. Healthy obsessions that sometimes empty my pockets and weigh down my luggage (sorry Dad!), but help me relax and realize life doesn't always have to be so fast paced and stressed. Sometimes it's good to just curl up in bed with a book and read the day away.